Power Polls: Where the Orioles stand in media rankings

MLB.com Power Rankings (15th)

MLB has revamped their presentation of the Power Rankings, and now only go to 20 places. The O’s were 15th in the Experts poll (75% weight) and also were 15th in the Fans’ Poll, so 15th they sit, after not appearing at all last week. Volatility is not your friend, MLB.com.

ESPN.com Power Poll (14th)

The Orioles rocket up 6 spots in the ESPN poll. I have no idea why. The O’s lost two of three against the Marlins, but the rest of the division had an even worse week, I suppose, especially the Yankees. "Manny Machado may be struggling a bit defensively, but he's currently posting career highs in batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.347) and slugging percentage (.474). -- Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot"

SI.com: Power Rankings (18th)

And in the same week the O’s rise by a lot in ESPN and MLB’s polls, they fall one spot in ST.com’s. The longer I write this feature, the less sense these polls make. Geesh, SI, outlier much?

FoxSports.com Power Rankings (20th)

FoxSports does their rankings solely on Baseball Prospectus’ playoff odds, which does the O’s no favors. And sure enough, the computers dislike the Orioles more than most this week, moving them down one spot this week. "A fun game to play in the offseason is "which random nobody will Baltimore turn into a 900+ OPS player this year?" If you had Jimmy Paredes, please come forward to collect your prize."

CBS Sports Power Rankings (20th)

The O’s are at 20th, with more love for Jimmy Paredes in the analysis comment.

USA Today Power Rankings (17th)

The Orioles rise slightly, up two spots from last week. USA Today also makes a great point about the schedule: "29 of first 32 games within division; change of scenery may do them well." Then again, in a month, we may be complaining they didn’t take advantage of the easy part of the schedule...

Grantland.com The 30 (16th)

Jonah Keri remains the voice of reason, moving the Orioles up, but just one spot. I can hear Jonah singing "Steady, As She Goes" right now...

Bleacher Report Power Rankings (17th)

Once again, B-R becomes a new-found voice of reason, elevating the O’s just one spot from last week. And they throw some tepid, if not cold, water on The Hit Paredes: "Jimmy Paredes now officially has enough at-bats to qualify for the batting title, and he is currently tied for second in the league with a .344 mark. Add in seven doubles, six home runs and 25 RBI, and he's undoubtedly one of the biggest breakout stars of 2015.However, a .407 BABIP, 24 percent HR/FB ratio and 4.5 percent walk rate, per FanGraphs, are all red flags for regression to come."